Wynn Brown, 39, lives in Columbus, Ohio. Having grown up in a family of veterans, Brown calls himself a military history buff.
“Both of my grandfathers and my great uncles all served in World War II, so I was surrounded by veteran stories, movies, books and just kind of latched onto it,” Brown said. “That’s always been a passion of mine.”
Which is why, on Veterans Day, Brown’s coworkers, Dari and Jim Kramer, gave him a handful of letters and documents dated back to 1919. They’re about a soldier from World War I named Harold Oscar Hallberg.
Brown recalled, the couple brought the letters into work and said to him, “Hey, we’ve had these in a little wooden box. We thought maybe you could look into it, and maybe you can figure out more about this soldier. We’ve always been interested in who this guy was.”
With the information in the letters, it didn’t take long for Brown to learn that Harold O. Hallberg was from Kane, Pennsylvania, a small town in McKean County, and that he died in July 1918 in France, at the age of 21.
Encouraged by a friend from college, Brown reached out to the borough office in Kane, asking for any family members of Hallberg.
And that’s how he found Harold Elmer Hallberg.
Hallberg, aged 78, was born and raised in Kane. Following in the footsteps of veterans in his family, he served 22 years in the Army, fighting in the Vietnam War.
Hallberg said he didn’t know a lot about his great uncle Harold, since his grandparents were sometimes hesitant to talk about him. What he did vividly remember, though, was running home to ask his mom how he got his great uncle’s name one day when he was in high school. He had seen a memorial with his name on in Evergreen Park earlier.
Hallberg said his mom told him that, soon after he was born, his grandparents visited. As his grandfather, Elmer, learned he hadn’t been named yet, he suggested the name Harold and said, “Harold would be a good name.”
Hallberg said, this story was one of the first things he shared with Brown.
After a brief phone call between the two men, Brown packaged the letters and shipped them from Columbus to Kane. Brown said he thought his job was done, when Hallberg called and asked if he wanted to be there in Kane as he opened the package.
“And I was legitimately honored,” Brown said. “I felt if Harold was going to honor me with that request, I have to uphold my end.”
So, with help from his dad, Steve, Brown made the journey of more than 500 miles and met Hallberg in person. They opened the letters together in Hallberg’s home in Kane.
The documents included a card with a gold star and information about the soldier’s grave, a letter seemingly responding to the Hallberg family’s dismay at the War Department’s lack of empathy, and a second letter notifying the family of the location of Harold O.’s permanent grave.
Corporal Harold Oscar Hallberg was buried at the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery in France. More than 6,000 Americans were buried there, the second largest American World War I military cemetery in Europe.
As Hallberg read the letters and shared his family history, Brown presented a gift he made to commemorate this new friendship – a triangle flag display with a photo of Harold Oscar.
“I thought that flag would honor him and [you could] put it up here in your office,” Brown said.
A slightly choked-up Hallberg said, “Thank you,” as they shook hands.
Brown said he hadn’t known what to expect, but it all worked out, and with good timing. Hallberg just moved back to Kane in September, as he got remarried in his hometown. He said receiving these letters fills in some of the gaps in his family history.
“To me as the oldest heir with his name,” Hallberg said. “I thought, man, this is going to be something that I’ll never forget.”
